Known solutions referred to the subject of the application relate to plate heat exchangers. Such heat exchangers are formed by a packet consisting of suitably shaped thin plates forming the heat exchange surface. The, plates are usually extruded to form a pattern of bulges and recesses on their surface. Forming a stack, or otherwise a packet, of plates and their tight connection, for example by welding, soldering or screwing between outer protection panels, forms the channel systems between the plates. The plates are also provided with openings in appropriate positions, which, after sealing and forming a packet of plates, form inlet and outlet channels for the media participating in heat transfer.
The essence of the plate heat exchangers is that the flow Pathways of media are interleaved, i.e. the consecutive spaces between the plates are alternatively used for heat-emitting medium and heat-receiving medium. In addition, channel systems formed by the extrusions of adjacent plates, cause the breakdown of the stream of each medium on many smaller streams and the introduction of the turbulence in the flow stream, resulting in better heat transfer between the media.
Said plate heat exchangers can have various applications, among others, they can serve as evaporators, condensers and liquid-liquid heat, exchangers.
An example of the heat exchanger is the Valeo condenser based on the technology used in the construction of the oil coolers by a liquid. Said design uses overpresses in heat exchanger plates, so-called corrugations, the appearance of which resembles a fish bone. Thus, the two circuits, the refrigerant circuit and coolant circuit, are interleaved each other extending alternatively through consecutive spaces between the internal plates. It should be noted that this solution provides for the use of the same overpresses both for one and second circuit, which limits the range of media, being the heat exchange media for which the heat transfer will be sufficiently effective, to a liquid. In other words, the same shape of the turbulator plates in both circuits of the heat exchanger provides an efficient reduction of the flow velocity and introduction turbulence in the flow only for the heat transfer agents, the substances of which have similar physical properties.
An example of a heat exchanger serving as a condenser of gaseous refrigerant in the automotive air conditioning system is the solution described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2013/0153072 to Delphi Technologies, Inc. Said solution comprises two end plates defining there between a slot for housing a turbulator panel. The turbulator panel serves at the same time for reinforcing of the structure between the end plates, as well as it is an obstacle to the flow of the refrigerant and causes a decrease in the flow rate and its interfering resulting is releasing of the liquid phase, which is collected at the bottom part of the condenser or discharged to the outside, depending on the arrangement of inlet and outlet channels. The construction of such condenser provides the placement of a larger number of turbulator panels separated with internal plates, which lengthens the flow path of the refrigerant in the heat exchanger and provides to obtain suitable conditions for condensation.
This solution also provides for cooperation with the additional coolant circuit, however the shape of the coolant circuit, as well as turbulator panels used therein, was not precisely specified.
It should be noted that in the case of a heat exchanger in which the heat emitting refrigerant is a gas changing its physical state to a liquid as a result of the cooling, while the heat-receiving coolant is a liquid, the important matter is suitable flow control separately for each of these media, i.e. to reduce the flow speed, to introduce respective turbulences in a flow stream and its suitable dividing while maintaining low pressure drop of the flowing medium. Due to the different physical properties of the media participating in heat exchange, it is necessary to form their flow paths through a heat exchanger in different ways so as to obtain the most efficient heat exchange there between.
The above-described solution of heat exchangers comprising a packet of pressed metal sheets is not favourable to an independent shaping of the channel system for the gaseous medium and liquid medium due to the fact that the extrusion of a metal sheet influences simultaneously both on a shape of its surface which forms a channel system for the gaseous refrigerant as well as on the surface interacting with a liquid coolant. Therefore, in such system it is not possible any influence on the shape of the flow path of one medium independently of the shape of the second refrigerant flow path.
The above problem is also not resolved by the structure disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Patent Application No. 2013/0153072, which is referred to the condensation of the refrigerant as a result of its precipitation on the obstacle in the form of a turbulator panel, because its essential solution shows only the refrigerant, circuit, while the suggested possibility of introducing the coolant circuit was not clarified with respect to its shape.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide solution of a heat exchanger, which uses independent and a different configuration of the gaseous refrigerant and liquid coolant flow paths, according to the different physical properties each of the media being said refrigerant and coolant, which allows optimal reduction of the flow rate of each of them and introduction of the flow disturbances while maintaining low pressure drop, resulting in greatly increased efficiency of heat exchange between them.
The present invention aims also to provide a solution that can be easily configured depending on the predefined conditions of use, i.e. the type of gaseous and liquid media that will participate in the heat exchange.
The present invention aims also to provide a solution that will implement the function of a water-cooled condenser for the gaseous refrigerant.